Seitan Worship at Tree House Vegetarian on South Grand

Obaachan's -- or Grandma's -- udon soup is a bowl of noodles, vegan dashi, red miso, cabbage, shiitake mushroom, scallion, tofu and a side of kimchi. Here, it's seen with the optional hard-boiled egg.

Vegan chefs are masters of manipulating plant oils and other fat sources for richness, but can they ever equal the thick layer of deliciousness that lies beneath a crispy duck skin or the ribbon of marbling that runs through a rib eye? We entered Tree House on a quest to find the fat. Could these chefs achieve creamy richness armed with only seitan and soy cheese?